John Sherry saved all his life, owned his home outright, and ran a business with 15 workers.
Then his wife got .

Now the couple live in a trailer and take grocery handouts from shelter volunteers.

Their prospects of ever getting back into a home in tony Marin County, , are swiftly dwindling.

'I'm not the guy that's down there and has zero.

I saved real well. I owned my home outright. But circumstances happen,' Sherry, 69, told DailyMail.com.

He thought he would only ever use his $50,000 Outback Keystone RV for family vacations. 

Now, it is one of a reported 135 motorhomes, cars and makeshift shacks that have assembled over the past two years to fill a two-mile stretch of Binford Road - the Misery Miles - alongside the 101 highway north of Novato, a city of 53,000, a 45 mile drive from San Francisco. 

John Sherry, 69, and wife Siriporn Lyness, are among those living on the two-mile stretch after falling on hard times due to the 2008 recession, a cancer battle, and their daughter's financial issues

Sherry, who once ran his own restaurant business, was forced to sell his home as a result, but refuses to give up his prized 1971 Chevy Nova, which he lovingly refurbished and keeps under a tarpaulin next to their well-kept RV home

Sherry, who was among the first five to pitch up on Binford Road in 2018, has the $35,000 classic car, a $45,000 Ford F150, and a $50,000 Outback Keystone RV on the side of the road

The snaking line of vehicles is a sharp contrast for the posh area outside San Francisco which has been home to multi-millionaire stars including George Lucas, Tony Bennett and Robin Williams.

Homeless residents lined up in vehicles along the road told DailyMail.com some were strung out on drugs, firing guns in the middle of the night, and setting their trailers on fire - while others were just down on their luck, working two jobs day and night to get back into safe housing.

Lifelong Marin resident Sherry said he built homes as a carpenter in Mill Valley, north of San Francisco, for 25 years, then employed over a dozen staff at a successful window cleaning company for another 20.

He and his wife, Siriporn Lyness, started a restaurant in Novato, but were hit badly in the 2008 recession. His daughter fell on hard times and he was stretched helping her out.

Then Lyness, 70, got cancer.

Her eight rounds of chemotherapy drained their accounts, and Sherry was forced to sell his home.

But he refuses to give up his prized 1971 Chevy Nova, which he lovingly refurbished and keeps under a tarpaulin next to their well-kept RV home.

'I keep things clean. You won't see even a candy wrapper on the ground here,' he said.

Sherry, among the first five to pitch up on Binford Road in 2018, has the $35,000 classic car, a $45,000 Ford F150, and a $50,000 Outback Keystone RV on the side of the road, with some of his unhoused neighbors sporting jet skis and motor boats.

The snaking line of caravans lining a two-mile stretch of Binford Road alongside the 101 highway north of Novato is a sharp contrast for the posh area near outside San Francisco which has been home to multi-millionaire stars 

Many of Sherry's unhoused neighbors have set up their own encampments, sporting jet skis and motor boats

According to locals, the road had long been a spot for homeless campers but that the number has grown significantly in the past two years

As for the government's role in the issue, Marin realtor Toni Shroyer said Novato residents suggested a local abandoned ranch or acres of empty land at the civic center as new sites for the encampment, but claimed the county has turned down both

'I've got expensive stuff,' Sherry told DailyMail.com, gesturing to his luxury vehicles.

'I owned three homes outright. But my wife got cancer, insurance didn't cover everything and I had to sell the house.

'My daughter had financial problems and I had to help her out. We owned a restaurant on 4th Street [in Novato] but the 2008 recession killed it,' he added.
'Now I'm almost 70. You don't feel like working at 70.

'I've been here four and a half years. I was one of the first here. When I came in mid 2018 there were three motor homes. Now there's over 80.'

Sherry and Lyness said they can't afford a normal home any longer, and low-income housing is in short supply.

According to Zillow, median rent in Novato is $3,299, with 56 rental properties available.

Prices range from $1,743 to $7,900. Nearby, Petaluma's median is $2,900, Sausalito is $4,250 and San Rafael $3,350.

'We get services like free food, free medical, if you need band aids, a toothbrush, a snack for the dog. They're just super people.

'This lake view is my bedroom window.
The birds come down in the morning. It's fun to watch the little airplanes come in,' he said. 'This is paradise here.'

Two caravans down was David Schuck, 65, who said he also once owned a million-dollar home, yet ended up a crystal meth addict on the streets.

'A while back I stayed in a motel.

It was the only shower I've had in six and a half years,' he said. 'I couldn't get prescription painkillers so I went on street drugs. I got on crystal meth, like everybody else. But I got clean. It was that or die.'